stood up or sat down

[cyclenic]

When is the best time, and gear to cycle stood up, and sat down in your opinion?

i tend to stand down hill off road, and up hill (all roads) i stand when going over bumps and curbs.

any tips?

 

[TheDoctor]

Hi!
Whatever feels comfortable for you. There's no single right answer.
I tend to stand up for a short steep rise - going over a railway bridge, that kind of thing. Long hills, I stay in the saddle and spin a low gear.

 

[swee'pea99]

For some reason I've always considered standing up to go uphill a bit of an admission of defeat. Just push harder yer big jessie. Standing up is only to be used to provide supension when going over speed bumps, pedestrians etc

 

[TheDoctor]

If that's what works for you then super!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[numbnuts]

I spin as I'm old

 

[HLaB]

I tend to stand all the way for short steep climbs and spin for loner ones although I occaisionally stand up. I also tend to stand up sometimes when I want to accelerate or if the surface is rough. I guess standing up delivers a better power ratio but also creates more drag and it'll be down to personal choice to determine what a right balance for you.

 

[Arch]

I find that standing up is the inevitable last resort before getting off and walking, so I try not to do it, once I do, I can only sustain it for a very short time, and if the hill is still going up, sitting down again just doesn't work....

 

[Willow]

I only stand when I've mucked the gears up and I can't move otherwise - one hill seems to defeat my changing on a regular basis

 

[sheddy]

I think standing up might improve your posture

 

[PaulB]

Standing up isn't just for leverage. There's also the blood flow to your...erm... nadgers to consider as well. You need to get off that pudendal nerve and the arteries in the saddle area as often as poss.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I stand when a hill is defeating me and also sometimes 'throw shapes' if I am in real trouble

 

[DJ]

I stand when a hill is defeating me and also sometimes 'throw shapes' if I am in real trouble

Sorry what does that mean? "Throw shapes"

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Sorry mate - "To pull or throw shapes, throwing shapes is a rider whose exertions has caused him to pedal in a ungainly and un-fluid manner. A sign a rider is about to crack or has cracked. Can be used in expressive ways "He's throwing a whole basket of shapes"."

Sorry what does that mean? "Throw shapes"

 

[grhm]

There's a few hills round here that I stand for sometimes. I almost always try to sit and spin in a lower gear. However, sometimes it feels like I'm in the lowest gear and spinning isn't comfortable or I'm making so little progress I'm worried about toppling over sideways. Then I end up standing up and changing up a gear or two - needing to change up a couple of gears seems wrong (and I don't know why) but it feels more comfortable.

I also stand uphill on short inclines when trying to maintain speed - e.g. I nearly always do this on a short rise to a local mini-roundabout in order to keep my speed up whilst holding the middle of the lane in front of traffic (or sometimes to keep up with the car in front).

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

I stand up for big(gish) bumps to use my legs as suspension and tend to weight the pedals and have my bum hanging off the back of the seat for big braking, but other than that tend to be sat down.

Having said that, I often find that a lot of my weight is supported on arms and feet, especially when I'm pedalling harder such as on a short steepish hill. I'm not really standing up as such, but my legs are inevitably carrying more weight in that circumstance.